ALL THE RIGHT NOTES –

Feb. 15, 2022 – Lauded by contemporaries, including David Nicholls and Jo Jo Moyes, there’s light and dark in all Keyes’ novels, equal measures of hilarity and heartbreak. She has explored hard-hitting issues, from addiction to cancer, via bereavement and domestic violence – but thanks to her huge gift for humour, they are not depressing books. Far from it.

Meanwhile, her combined 386k followers on Instagram and Twitter tap in to her witty asides about love, life, handbags, make-up and shoes, along with references to Mammy Keyes (her mum) and Himself (her husband). Yet life hasn’t always been a laugh a minute for the 58-year-old publishing phenomenon.

The alcoholism of her wild 20s, which led to a spell in rehab, and a bout of depression little more than a decade ago, have been well-documented. She hasn’t had a drink for 28 years.

more@RTE